Lawson's predicament
by Goshstorywriter
Summary: Lawson's professionalism is tested when an old flame turns up at his workplace.
1. Chapter 1

Lawson Story

Kerry tells Lawson that they've got a new team member arriving. Apparently she's got a good reputation, experienced, a strong track record and has just moved interstate.  
Lawson; " good, sounds good, what's her name ? "  
Kerry is walking down the corridor next to Lawson; " Cate Henson"  
Lawson stops, he doesn't say anything, he looks at her with his mouth open.  
Kerry stops; " Lawson ? Do you know her ?"  
Lawson; "yes.....well, I used to know her"  
Kerry puts her hand on her hip, "is that a problem ?" ( she wants to ask if there is history but doesn't want to push it )  
Lawson is silent a moment, then replies; " no, no it's not a problem, it was a long time ago"  
Kerry removes her hand from her hip and turns to start walking again, "good then" and she walks off wondering about this new development. Lawson stands where she left him.

The next day Lawson meets Cate. She is tall, attractive, wavy strawberry blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She shakes his hand; "Lawson Blake, long time......"  
Lawson; "it sure has been Cate......what brings you back to Melbourne ?"  
Cate; "split with my husband, felt like a new start."  
Lawson can't help but blurt out; "you've been married then ?" ( he's surprised, but why should he be, its been so long ) She nods. He says; "well nothing like returning to your roots"  
She smiles, "you could say that ". Both of them feel very awkward and the others have been watching them in astonishment. Lawson and Cate remember where they are and get back to business.

Later in the squad car.  
Dom to Josh; " what do you reckon the story is ? "  
Josh ; "huh ?"  
Dom continues; "between Lawson and the new girl, ever heard him mention her ? "  
Josh; "oh, nuh. Lawson keeps his personal life to himself"  
Dom doesn't believe this, he knows how tight Lawson and Josh are; " looks like they know each other well"  
Josh; "looks like old history to me, that stuff can come back to haunt you"  
Dom; "you'd know would you ?"  
Josh ignores this comment.

At Lawson's place that night

Lawson is home alone, shuffling through an old shoebox of photos. He finds a couple of photos of Cate and him. He hasn't ever filed these ones in his photo album.

Lawson thinks to himself.  
"It must have been 20 years ago......we were both starting out in the police force, young, full of ideas, brash confidence.....like Michael is now. I loved her passion, energy, she was cute, sassy, she's still gorgeous.... We had some great times, mountain bike rides on the weekends, a ski holiday.......how many years were we together ? 2....3 years ?"

He can't remember exactly. He's tried not to think about this.

"Then she took that job in Brisbane..... I might have asked her to marry me....."

He sighs and says her name aloud; "Cate..."  
He puts down the photos, and picks up his beer, takes a mouthful.  
He says; "s**t..... I thought I'd forgotten about her"

Thinking; "How am I going to work with her ? She hated me for refusing to leave Melbourne, but I couldn't have gone north. No, I don't regret that decision at all. Well, so here she is now, and she said she'd had a husband ?"

Lawson is definitely in a predicament here. She was the love of his life, they'd met at work but had not had to work together for long, they had been in different suburbs, it had worked out fine. But now he was going to have to work closely with her. He knew he still had strong feelings for her and it went against his ethics to carry on an affair with a work colleague......she probably wasn't even interested anyway..

Josh's thoughts

After the awkward conversation with Dom, Josh did give some thought to Lawson's predicament. Regardless of what the others might think, Josh **did** think about relationships, he just didn't see the need to discuss these things publicly. He and Lawson had always been the bachelors of the team, the occassional brief relationship, but never anything lasting since they had known each other. This had puzzled Josh a little. He thought that Lawson seemed to be the kind of handsome, eligible, dependable type that you'd expect to be married with a kid or two. He didn't seem to relish his bachelor lifestyle and yet he didn't seem to be looking for love either.  
One night after their usual beer, pizza and footy routine, Josh had dared say something about this topic and Lawson had surprisingly muttered that he'd already met his soul-mate and didn't expect a second chance. That brief comment seemed to take on a new meaning following today's events.

A quiet but awkward moment together between Lawson and Cate, out on a job.

Lawson and Cate are waiting outside a building. Lawson is pacing. He doesn't like this situation, having to work closely with her and he just wants to get out of there but he's also got questions to ask. Cate also feels awkward but not as much as he does. She doesn't realise how deeply he was hurt by the failure of their relationship.

Lawson looks like he's going to ask her a question, then he bites his lip, looks the other way, his hands on his hips, awkward.  
He commits to it.  
Lawson; "so you were married, you said......"  
Cate is glad he broke the ice, "yes"  
Lawson; ( was hoping for some more information there ) " so..... how long for ? "  
Cate; " ten years"  
She's not giving much away, he really expected some more information and now he's going to have to prod which he doesn't like.  
Lawson; "ten years ! "  
Cate; " is that surprising ? "  
Lawson; "well, no, I just , I guess it's been a while....it seems like it wasn't that long ago that we..... anyway ten years is impressive I guess"  
Really what he would like to say is that he can't believe she would commit to someone else for ten years but not to him, who is this guy ? ( Lawson thinks this but doesn't say it )  
Cate; " it's not impressive now that its over !"  
Lawson; "sure, sure"  
Cate; "he's a successful lawyer, I met him in court actually ! ( she laughs ) but in the end he couldn't handle my commitment to my career, he wanted me to give it all up and have his kids"  
Lawson; "right, right, yeah well, your career is important to you "  
Cate; "yes it is"  
Lawson thinks: well I know that, you don't need to tell me, didn't you tell him before you went and married him ?  
Cate; "what about you ? what have you been doing all these years ?"  
Lawson; " uh, not much, working a lot it would seem..."  
Cate: "yes it does seem to be a priority to you too...."  
He nods.  
Cate; "so no wife ? "  
Lawson shakes his head.  
Cate; "no kids obviously...."  
He shakes his head again, he's looking at the ground.  
Cate; "girlfriend ..... ?"  
Lawson shakes his head.  
Lawson; "sounds pretty sad doesn't it ?" ( he's chuckling )  
Cate just looks at him.  
Lawson; "well, what can you do hey ? that's life " and he walks off.  
He needs to escape from the inquisition, it was getting too heated for his liking. He didn't want to think about what he might say next.  
Cate stands there thinking. He's changed, he's so serious and uptight, he used to be fun, bit of a charmer, what's happened to him ? She thinks some girl must have broken his heart but it doesn't occur to her that it is **her** , it happened so long ago she's moved on and forgotten about it. But it's still an intense memory for Lawson.

Later, after work Josh and Lawson are having a beer, pizza, footy night together as they do.

Josh told Dom that Lawson's private life was his own business but Josh has decided to broach the subject anyway, he asks Lawson; "so what's going on with this Cate chick ?"  
Lawson is a little defensive; "nothing, nothing at all"  
Josh considers this silently.

Lawson watches him, then says; "don't make things up when there's nothing to work on"  
Josh; "well it doesn't look like there's nothing"  
Lawson; " I don't know what you mean" but Lawson won't be able to brush Josh off that easily. "Oh come on Lawson, you both avoid each other, then when you do have to communicate it's awkward, you try desperately not to look at each other....."  
Lawson is horrified that Josh has observed this much, or if not, that someone else has told him; "is it that noticeable ?" Josh nods. "Have the others said anything ?" Josh nods.  
Lawson; "s**t why did she have to come here ? come and gatecrash my workplace ?"  
Josh prods; "so what's the story ? the history ?"  
Lawson sighs, "we went out for a few years.."  
Josh is rather astonished; "YEARS ?"  
Lawson; "yes, then she moved interstate, she put her career first...."  
Josh nods; "I see, and you ....?"  
Lawson is quiet a moment, he can't tell Josh that he was going to ask her to marry him....  
Lawson: "I was gutted, I've never forgiven her, I thought I had forgotten her but......"  
Josh; "bloody hell..."  
Lawson; "not a word of this to the others !"  
Josh; "yeah, no worries, it's in the vault"


	2. Chapter 2

I have decided that this story does take place after Grace leaves, Cate is her replacement.

It's Cate's first week in TR. One afternoon after their shift finishes, the team go out for a drink at the local pub. Dom has gone home to Sandrine and the baby.  
Whilst the boys are ordering drinks, Stella and Cate have a brief moment alone.  
Cate tries to get some information from Stella about their workmates; "Josh is a bit of a moody bastard isn't he !"  
Stella is delighted to fill her in; "you could say that. He and Grace were..............**very close**...."  
Cate; "oh ! was she his girlfriend ?"  
Stella; "uh, not exactly.....Grace was **married**."

Stella expertly conveys her disapproval with her tone and raised eyebrows. She wonders if Cate has her eye on Josh but she's on the wrong track. Cate finds this information amusing and says; "righto, so plenty of action around here then ?" Stella; "nuh, none of them hit on me !"  
They both laugh. Stella looks pleased with herself, she wouldn't mind getting on well with the only other female.

Josh, Lawson and Michael return with drinks.  
Lawson; "how about a game of pool then ?"  
Cate is keen; "sure thing". Lawson smiles. Only he knows that Cate's a good player.  
He says; "you want to play with me Cate ?" She notices that he has a bit of his old charm back, "sure " she says. Stella is always keen for action too; "come on Michael, lets smash them !"  
Michael enthusiastically gets up and declares: "I'm in !" Josh sits back with his beer and watches them. He suspects that Lawson is being sneaky and it'll make entertaining viewing.

It soon becomes obvious to the others that Cate and Lawson make a good team. Stella innocently asks; " have you two played together before ?" Lawson evades answering the question truthfully and so says; "where would we have played together Stella ?". Stella shrugs, she's puzzled but she's enjoying herself.

Josh quietly observes to himself that Lawson is enjoying himself, he's lightening up, having fun for a change. When Cate laughs, Lawson can't help but smile. They make a good team. Josh shouts the next round enthusiastically. He wants to keep the good times rolling for Lawson. Lawson and Cate are both enjoying each others company. They win the game of pool. The others are ready to go home, they've got work tomorrow.

Lawson and Cate are the last to leave. They are finishing their beers when Josh last sees them. He walks home alone wondering what might happen next. He's happy to see Lawson enjoying himself.

Outside the pub Cate and Lawson say goodbye, They start to embrace in a brief , friendly hug but after the beers and good vibes, it develops into something more. As Lawson hugs her their cheeks brush, he can smell her perfume, they're both relaxed, unguarded, he lingers at her cheek and then they both start to kiss. He runs his hand through her hair....

But Lawson backs off. He comes to his senses, he can't do this again, he feels that he is getting in too deep. He awkwardly apologises, says goodbye and walks off quickly without looking back. Cate is left standing there, starting to realise the depth of his feelings. He looked sad, troubled all of a sudden.

Next day at work Lawson is back to his usual guarded professionalism. He avoids any moments alone with Cate and she is acutely aware of this. She is relieved however. Last night troubled her and she spent a lot of time back at her place thinking about it. Unlike Lawson she hadn't kept photos and was having trouble recollecting exactly what went on so long ago.

Josh is disappointed to see the renewed tension and coldness between them. He's not quite sure what might have happened but he's smart enough to not say a word. Stella almost blows it.  
Stella; "so Lawson.....how was last night ? You two were having a good time weren't you ?"  
Lawson glares at her. Josh walks up and stands over her, interrupting; "Let's go Stella, the car's ready, we've got work to do". Stella is rather intimidated by Josh's tone and the manner in which he stands over her as he speaks. He's holding a bag over his shoulder and glaring at her.  
Stella; "alright Josh, cool it" she says as she walks off with him following closely behind. Lawson watches them go with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

Kerry has observed this little scene from a distance. She wasn't aware of last night's pool game but with a bit of sleuth she'll soon know it all. It's blatantly obvious to her that something is brewing amongst team relations. It's not hard for her to guess, she already knows that Lawson and Cate have history and she's concerned about their ability to function as a team. She goes off to find Michael and to ask him some tricky questions.

At the car

Dom starts driving. Stella is in the back seat fuming. Josh is in the front passenger seat.  
Stella; "what was that about Josh ? I think I deserve an apology."  
Josh turns around and gives her his most intimidating (and some might say sexy ) look. She cringes a little.  
Josh; "I thought that you were an expert at analysing the minutae of your work colleagues' relationships, dissecting it, embellishing it and then spreading it around like wildfire"  
Stella is astounded at this rather elaborate speech, it's not at all what she's come to expect from Josh. Dom is silently impressed and makes a mental note to recount this in detail to Sandrine later tonight. Stella's mouth is agape, she doesn't know what to say.  
Josh continues; "well for once you either missed the clues or you're more malicious and spiteful than I thought."  
Stella blurts out; "what ?"  
Josh; "Lawson might have been a 'happy chappy' last night but today's a different story, can't you tell he's back to his usual self ? the impenetrable wall ? So leave him be. Obviously something happened last night after we left, I don't know what....and it's none of our business either, so shut it Stella"  
Dom nods.  
Stella frowns angrily but says nothing.  
Josh feels quite thirsty now, he's not in the habit of giving long speeches and doesn't plan on making any more. He looks out the car window at the view. They drive past the park where they went running. He immediately thinks of Grace, running, laughing next to him. He smiles sadly to himself. Lately it's been getting more difficult to remember the sound of her voice, of her laugh, he has almost nothing to remember her by.............


End file.
